All posts in Adopt-A-Family

“Lorraine”, her husband and their five children have been forced to move nine times since being displaced by Superstorm Sandy. To make matters worse, a fraudulent contractor stole $60,000 dollars of their RREM grant. He has since been charged and imprisoned but it took them a full year to be reimbursed through NJ RREM fraud policy. OCLTRG has assisted this family with rent and monthly expenses to help ease their massive financial strain.

Currently, we are seeking funding for two objectives: 1) to complete extensive mold remediation, a direct result of the house sitting unfinished for the past year, and 2) financial assistance to enable their young children to participate in summer and extracurricular activities. We estimate that another $11,200 will make this family whole again.

Peggy, a single mother of three school-aged children, hired a contractor to repair their family home in Keansburg, NJ. Unfortunately, that contractor only completed a portion of the work he was paid for before vanishing. One of our non-profit partners, the St. Bernard’s Project, would like to finish the work but can’t get started due to the original contractor’s poor workmanship. Now there are several concerns about the structure’s safety and Peggy needs approximately $5,000 to pay for a structural engineer’s report. This report will determine the scope of work needed for SBP. The construction project will cost no less than $10,000 and could exceed that based on the engineer’s findings. The OCLTRG hopes to raise $15,000 to help this young family feel safe in their own home once again.

Over last four years, “Harry” and “Grace” have been forced to live in a trailer and several different rental properties. Their home in Little Egg Harbor was severely damaged by three feet of water and had to be completely demolished. Initially Harry and Grace’s case was being handled through the Mental Health Association of NJ. However, after MHANJ’s funding for disaster case management ended, their case was transferred to OCLTRG for rental assistance. Upon reviewing Harry and Grace’s case, we learned that their rebuild was stalled for months because the contractor filed for bankruptcy. This left them with no remaining accessible funding and a half-finished home. Fortunately, following the advocacy efforts of OCLTRG and partner agencies, the state rental assistance programs for homeowners, RREM and LMI, have been extended.

The OCLTRG is now working with the family to find funding to finish their project. A Future with Hope, one of our nonprofit building partners, is intent on helping us get this job done but even with the use of volunteer labor it will cost $12, 300 to get Harry and Grace back home.

Donate today so we can continue to help families like Harry and Grace.

The widow of a veteran and her wheel chair bound adult son came to OCLTRG when they realized the structural integrity of their home and bulkhead were compromised during Superstorm Sandy. They feared the water the bulkhead kept at bay would cause even more damage if it were not immediately repaired.

OCLTRG was able to raise 40,000 dollars, through the Adopt-A-Family program, to keep the home safe from further damage. This enabled them to begin the rebuilding process but also raised a new challenge. They could not reside in the house during construction. Thankfully, the OCLTRG was able to procure funds for two “long-stay hotel rooms” that were best suited for the specific needs of mother and son. “It brings me tears of joy to work with such incredible people,” says her son. “Thank you.”

Donate today so we can continue to help people like Rick and his mother!